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In cold blood

Engage in a deep dive into Truman Capote's masterpiece with thought-provoking discussion questions. Uncover the motives for murder, the perfect crime myth, characters' complexities, and the dynamics of friendship-turned-tragedy. Explore the protagonist and antagonist dichotomy, the chilling plot developments, and the lingering questions that echo through the pages of this haunting tale.

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In cold blood

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  1. In cold blood Capote

  2. Discussion questions • Do you think there’s an antagonist or protagonist in the novel? • antagonist (an-TAG-uh-nist):  a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works again the main character, or protagonist, in some way. The antagonist doesn’t necessarily have to be an person. It could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from living “happily ever after." • protagonist(pro-TAG-eh-nist) A protagonist is considered to be the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem.  It may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work. • http://www.uncp.edu/home/canada/work/allam/general/glossary.htm#protagonist

  3. Discussion questions • What are the motives for murder? • Is their “catch” worth it? • How much incentive would it take to kill someone in the 60s? • Is there such a thing as a “perfect crime”? • Page 37 “from first footfall to final silence, flawlessly devised” • Perry’s bloody footprint and soaked boots • They travel from Olathe to Holocomb • Picked up lots of supplies just in case (no witnesses) • Didn’t know the house until they came to it (page 57)

  4. Discussion questions • What is the major plot development we can see from part I? • Is the murder the climax? The motive? The actual killing? • Why does Capote tell it the way he does? • The switch back and forth between the Clutters and Dick and Perry, the big lead up to telling about the killings, that we already know about?

  5. The clutters • Mr Clutter’s life insurance policy signed just a few days before his (and his family’s) death • Morality in paying the money (71) • Immorality that Dick and Perry fall asleep after the murders • Mrs Clutter, mental illness? Depression? • Is she the weakest link in the Clutter family? • Pages 27 and 30, keeping things in boxes with Jolene, taking things with you, never know when the time will come, shortly before their deaths. • The Clutters are illustrated as this perfect family, nothing perfect lasts too long, are they targeted? Why?

  6. Dick and Perry • Is Perry a sociopath? http://www.mcafee.cc/Bin/sb.html • How did these two get to working together? • Dick’s Lil Wayne tear drop tattoo, fraternity of killing? • What are the dynamics of their relationship? • Perry’s comparison of what he thinks of himself vs. what others think of him: • “exceptional, rare, artistic” (45) • “you are a man of extreme passion…” Willie-Jay (43) • “natural born killer…” Dick (55)

  7. killings • Four gun shots kill six people • But only four of the Clutters die at the murder scene • Why aren’t the older daughters included? • Who are the last two deaths? • Are there separate motives?

  8. Crime of friends • Page 70 • In the small town everyone was friends, • how could no one have heard or seen it? • Bobby as the main suspect? • Should the neighbors fear this would happen to them? • How did Dick and Perry find out about the “score”?

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